Note: New Year's Eve

Scout and I are hoping that you have a safe and sane New Year's celebration. Remember to pick a designated driver, or catch a ride if you have any doubts about getting behind the wheel. I have lots of good posts coming up in the new year, and I wouldn't want you to miss a single one of them. Happy New Year.

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Choose Rosemary for Remembrance

I like rosemary. It smells clean and refreshing to me. When I lived in California I saw it used frequently as a hedge, or as an indestructible shrub around business parks. I often used it as a base for wreaths because it dried beautifully and was easy to find.Since moving to Kentucky, I keep my rosemary bushes indoors during the winter months and move them onto the deck in May (on Derby day).

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The Charmed House - Solarium and Kitchen

After I made my comments about the wonderful house and garden used in the movie "Practical Magic", friends started talking about other great houses and gardens. The series "Charmed", now off the air, had one of the most beautiful conservatories I've seen outside of Monticello, and I remember that I visited a website once that had a virtual tour of it.This link isn't the site I remember, but it

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Safe Indoor Pest Control for Your Plants

If you brought any unwelcome freeloaders in with your plants this fall, I have a great safe way to deal with them. I'm not sure where I saw this, but for years I've been afraid to spray pesticide indoors because of my pets. So, to treat any insects that may have come inside on my plants' leaves, I place a flea collar around the base of the pot. After a few days, I move the collar to any plant

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Lavender for Luck

Why is lavender lucky?I have been trying to find a link to lavender and luck since reading the novel "Practical Magic". I can locate many references to luck associated with planting lavender with roses. The earlier sources for lavender as it relates to attracting good luck, or possibly repelling misfortune, are linked to its association St. John Day where it was burned in bonfires when evil

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Commercial Herb Blends

Once you've made a few of your own herb blends, it's easy to get spoiled. The strong flavors of freshly dried herbs are great in cooking, and would be reason enough to take up the hobby of herb growing, even without the other advantages. Herb Blends are a Kitchen StapleI wanted to take a moment to mention some of the blends that I do like and use. Over the years, my husband and I have purchased

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Wear Your Rue With a Difference

The delicate gray-green leaves of rue are a distinctive addition to the garden. This herb is not as popular as it used to be. It's bitter to the taste, and has a sharp aroma. Its medicinal properties have largely fallen into disuse, aside from its topical application to treat bruising and mild arthritis. It can be toxic if taken internally in large doses. The Many Faces of RueRue has a long

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Treat a Tummy Ache With Peppermint

What would you pick as the most quintessential flavor of Christmas. My vote goes to peppermint. I smell peppermint, and I'm six years old holding a sticky candy cane in my hand and looking at the colored lights on the tree. This was back when Christmas tree lights were enormous.After the holiday, don't toss your candy canes in the dumpster! Put them in your medicine cabinet in a tightly sealed

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Cinnamon Sticks

Cinnamon sticks are made from the rolled bark of one of a variety of cinnamomun trees that belong to the Laurel family. If you are a lover of cinnamon, try grinding your own. Ground cinnamon will lose its flavor pretty quickly, within a few months; but cinnamon sticks can retain good flavor for a year or more. In order to get the best cinnamon flavor, buy sticks and grind them in a quality coffee

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Dry Your Leftover Parsley

If you have leftover parsley every year from your holiday garnishes, try drying it. This is my chance to recommend that you buy a dehydrator if you don't already have one.Dehydrate Your LeftoversI have two, and use them throughout the year. They are inexpensive, safe, easy to use, and they can help you save money and eat healthier. If you like herbs, having one is a necessity.After a few hours

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So, Is There Anything To Put out for the Reindeer?

I've read that reindeer eat alfalfa and love raisins. This is my way of introducing dried fruit into our talk. Dried fruit has lost some of its appeal in recent generations, which I think is a tragedy. I'm the only person I know that still likes fruitcake.Tasty Dried Fruits you Wouldn't Have ExpectedDried fruit has struggled into the 21st century, however, and I thought that I'd mention some

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Paprika - It's Good for a lot More Than Decorating Deviled Eggs and Garlic Bread

When I was growing up, there was only one kind of paprika available. I was taught that it was only good as a garnish, mostly on deviled eggs and potato salad, because it had little or no flavor. Apparently, much of Europe was giving paprika more attention than we were, because it has evolved into an essential element in many flavorful dishes.Behold the Bell PepperPaprika is more versatile and

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All About the Hot in Hot Peppers

Easy to grow, dry, grill, and freeze, peppers are inspired food enhancers. They are aids to digestion, can have pain relieving properties, and . . .well, they're pretty, too. Become a pepper lover with this easy pepper primer.Spring is just around the corner, so check out the pepper page of your seed catalogs and have a fiesta.Peppers are Easy to GrowI've grown peppers in pots and in the ground

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Are You Looking Forward to Your Seed Catalogs Yet?

One of my favorite New Year's activities is waiting for the mail to arrive. Why? Gardening Catalogs, of course! Free Seed CatalogsIf you aren't signed up for all of the seed catalogs you want this year, About.com has a listing of great free catalogs you can request: Free Seed Catalogs For free herb catalogs go to my updated catalog post: Herb CatalogsI have some Amazon links to seed starter kits

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Preserving Ginger

There are rewards to using ginger in your cooking and gardening. Ginger is an underrated spice. I think that might be because the prepared ginger powder available in most grocery stores is pretty flavorless. The drying process robs ginger of most of its flavor, but there is a clever way around it. If you've ever come across or purchased ginger root, it can be preserved indefinitely. This is true

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Save Your Green Onions

When I buy green onion, I always try to pick bunches with roots on the ends. If I don't use the whole bunch, I plant the extra. Even after being in the refrigerator for over a week, I can still get most of them to root, either indoors in winter or outdoors in summer.Since green onion doesn't keep well in the refrigerator, or dry well, this is my solution to the problem of waste. Try it. If

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Cardamom - Essential to a Great Hot Toddy

Cardamom is an unusual spice that is the essential ingredient in the absolute best hot toddy ever invented. A native to India, it's best to buy the whole seeds and grind them yourself. The spice can be a little expensive, but if you like a good toddy, or hot buttered rum to the uninitiated, it's absolutely worth it. I have an ancient recipe, but I found one online that's close. If you have a

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Make Bath Salts

Make some refreshing bath salts to help you relax after a long day's work or shopping. Bath salts are easy and relatively inexpensive to make. Most recipes are a blend of Epsom salt and coarse sea salt. I recommend mixing them 50/50 your first time. After that you can make adjustments as you see fit. Some recipes will use either one or the other exclusively, something you might consider if price

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Parsley of Old – My Old Anyway

Parsley was the first fresh herb I was familiar with as a child. It was present at almost every restaurant prepared meal, sitting on the plate next to a slice of lemon or carrot curl. My mother always urged me in a whisper after every meal to eat my parsley because it was nature’s breath freshener. The variety I was most familiar with was curly, but not quite as tightly curled as the parsley we

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Chives at your Fingertips

Chives are a personal favorite of mine. This herb was the first that Iregularly went out in the garden to snip in the evening when I was about to start cooking dinner. I keep a special pair of "herb" scissors in a kitchen drawer, together with a small wicker basket to help me harvest the night's herb choices. I have lots of snipping herbs now, parsley, oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, bay, and

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Lemon Balm The Scent That Says Fresh

Lemon balm is a perennial in the mint family. It has a light lemony fragrance that you will recognize from furniture polish and dishwashing liquid.Easy to Root and GrowIt does well in partial shade, preferring well-drained soil. Keep lemon balm moist. I prefer to keep mine near downspouts and around outdoor faucets. Lemon balm is easy to grow from stem cuttings that have been rooted water. It

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Holly and Mistletoe - Christmas Staples

Around the holidays, we see a lot of mistletoe and holly. Although these plants are not on many herb lists, I was curious to know about their curative properties if any. I'm always interested in the plants around me. It seems that every plant I investigate has a colorful history, as well as some useful purpose or other.Mistletoe (European)Processed European mistletoe has shown success in

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